You would typically be asked to produce a letter or certificate of good conduct if you were to apply for a job abroad and your potential employer wanted proof that you did not have a criminal record. While employers in most countries are able to run background checks on job applicants with their domestic law enforcement agencies, they typically cannot find out if a candidate has committed an offense while on foreign soil. If you've applied for a job overseas and have been asked to prove your good character, you'll need to get in touch with a number of agencies.

Contact the local police departments of all the areas in the U.S. where you've lived. Ask for documents that prove you don't have a criminal record. The Department of State advises that local police departments may require your personal appearance to conduct a search. Your local police office should also be able to supply you with fingerprint cards if necessary.

Make a written request to the Criminal Justice Information Services division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an identification order listing your criminal convictions or lack thereof. Your request must be accompanied by satisfactory proof of your identity and a certified check or money order for the processing fee, according to the Department of State. Your proof of identity must include your name, date and place of birth and a set of roll-inked fingerprint impressions. You can request this from your local police station.

Contact the Department of State Authentications Office to find out if any of your documents need to be certified before being sent off. You should make sure you specify the country to which your documents are to be sent when submitting them and include a check to cover the processing fee.

Tip

Get in touch with the embassies of any countries where you've lived outside the U.S. to find out how to get letters or certificates of good conduct for any time you've spent abroad. The process for doing so will vary by country, but you can typically expect to pay a fee to process your request.

About the Author

Michael Roennevig has been a journalist since 2003. He has written on politics, the arts, travel and society for publications such as "The Big Issue" and "Which?" Roennevig holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the Surrey Institute and a postgraduate diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists at City College, Brighton.